A former NBA player, Etan Thomas, said that he was denied a seat due to his race, and he called out a woman for it on social media.
On Friday, Thomas wrote a blistering Facebook post, saying the unnamed woman offered a seat to another passenger after denying him.
Thomas, who is black, said a white man asked her about the seat less than two minutes after and she agreed.
The former Washington Wizards center-power forward said he confronted the woman and took her photo. He said the woman called the conductor, who Thomas said was a fan of his, saying he “loved [him] with the Wizards,” adding that the New York Knicks “sure could use you.”
He wrote: “Now, less than 2 mins later a man (who happens to be white) asks if he can sit there and she says why sure let me move my stuff. So I have to say something so I ask ummmmm did you just not want ME to sit next to you ? Were you scared ? Not comfortable with a Black Man sitting next to you ?”
Thomas then added: “And she says lol smh don’t pull the race card stuff with me I dated a Black guy in college. So the guy (who was a nice guy) said listen I'll get up and I said no need I’mma just take this pic and make a Facebook post about it. So then she says did you just take a pic of me ? Well I’m going to tell the conductor that you’re over here illegally taking pics of ppl without their consent.”
He also tweeted about it.
He didn’t elaborate on where the incident took place or what train line he was riding.
The 38-year-old played nine seasons in the NBA. He most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks in 2010-2011 before retiring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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